If you're a social media user (especially Facebook) then the chances are high that you often see people sharing links about things such as wonder cures, super foods, false flag events and loads of other 'news' that you 'need to know' !

What got me thinking about this is where it concerns blogs or articles that talk about health and how you can avoid certain modern things, like brushing your teeth, for example, and replace it with eating some weird substance. You know the kind of thing. How civilization had coped for centuries without modern medical luxuries and how it didn't do them any harm etc... forgetting the fact that nobody lived long anyway.

There's obviously a huge undercurrent of feeling that says that anything proffered by established institutions is either untrue, harmful and there just to keep us enslaved. Mainstream news is all lies and all those conspiracy blogs full of unconfirmed, unsubstantiated fear mongering are the 'real deal'. That's a simplified gist of it all. I'm not saying that doesn't occur because it certainly does... but just because something is well known and established, doesn't automatically make it sinister either.

There could be many natural remedies that work well and have less side effects than medication but that doesn't mean medication doesn't work and should be forsaken. There are many mainstream news stories that are BS but that doesn't mean all conspiracy theories and unreported stories are true, either.

The truth has to be somewhere in the middle, surely.

If people are pushing suggestions, especially about health issues, that are downright wrong, then it's exceptionally irresponsible isn't it ? A lot of people, in open mindedness or desperation, may follow this advice and make their lives worse as a result.

Where am I going with this, you ask ? Nowhere in particular, I reply ! Only here... how do you filter the good advice from the bad, the informative from the misleading ? There's so much info and new 'discoveries' out there, how does one know who to trust ?

The laconic and philosophical answer would be 'You trust yourself' but another clue is usually the URL of the website in particular. If it's some obscure site called SecretTruthOfAlienWorldLeaders.com then it's possible, just possible, that it may not be quite 100% trustworthy. Just saying.

With all that in mind, have you ever followed advice or tried something you read about and it turned out badly ? I'm not saying you took diet advice from SecretTruthOfAlienWorldLeaders.com or anything........ it could be something normal that wasted your time etc

I'm aware of the irony of being on a guitar forum where we freely give advice all the time !! I would say that, mostly, it's not advice that would endanger you in any way. If it does, then you're probably doing something wrong with your guitar.

For the record, secrtetruthofalienworldleaders has great advice on diet and exercise. I mean, we all wanna look our best when the apocalypse is nigh and the aliens decide to abandon the planet, destroying it while they leave. Right?

As for advice, I usually check multiple sources. Let's say a new diet or workout program, cause we probably all checked stuff like that at least once. Let's say a fitness guru promotes this new "1 superset of everything at midnight and you'll be shredded in 3 weeks" program. I check what he writes, then I google the program and see if other professionals have written something about that as well. Chances are, you read some good and some bad things. Some people believe in it, some don't. But I gather as much information as possible. And then I decide whether I wanna try it or not. I'm all for the trust yourself philosophy as well. So if I realize something doesn't work, I will switch to something else. There are many ways to reach the goal you have in mind, but at one point you have to decide for one way and stick to it. Consistency is the key.

Oh, before I do my research, I ask myself: "does this guy look like he knows what he's doing?"You wouldn't trust an obese guy selling a diet pill, right?

Once I actually bought a scam product. Some dude was selling a DVD, advertising it on Facebook. The DVD was bench pressing in one picture and I thought "Yeah! I wanna be as good at bench pressing as this DVD!" So I bought it. I'm still bad at bench pressing...My guitar playing improved though.

To conclude: don't trust everything on the net, do your own research. It may take time, but it will make you smarter.Maybe smart enough so that our secret alien leaders see a value in you and take you with them someday.

Hmmmm ... no. IMO, as far as extraordinary claims and outrageous propaganda is concerned - it's all BS. Before the ubiquity of the web there was late night TV ads, QVC, info-mercials, tabloid newspapers and guys selling 'miracle' cures on the street and door to door. The internet is just a faster way to be a snake-oil salesman. SOS.

I've made a couple of questionable purchases over the years, some of it music gear related, but those only helped to reinforce my resolve to not pay any attention to that $h1t.

Nobody really wants to hear what it takes to get your body and health back together or become a good musician or remodel a kitchen - it's hard, potentially expensive and can take a long time, lol! That doesn't sell.Plus, the internet - where there's a lot of selling going on - is all about 'positivity' (I like to call it falsebook). Everything and everyone is awesome and amazing all the time and we're all blessed and thankful to be doing what we do and who we do it with. Hmmmm ... no.

Once I actually bought a scam product. Some dude was selling a DVD, advertising it on Facebook. The DVD was bench pressing in one picture and I thought "Yeah! I wanna be as good at bench pressing as this DVD!" So I bought it. I'm still bad at bench pressing...My guitar playing improved though.

That sounds dodgy as hell. I would never do anything like that. No, no.

QUOTE (Gitarrero @ Jan 30 2015, 02:03 PM)

For the record, secrtetruthofalienworldleaders has great advice on diet and exercise.

Sounds like I was a bit harsh. Maybe I should give them another shot !

I don't have trust in diets or miracle cures from internet. I look around at my friends and everybody keep weird and unhealthy diets. I never understand why people think if you eat only "grass" you will lose some kilos. You will lose just for a short period.I think everybody knows that for a good body proportion you need more than a diet. You need sports, give up at bad habits (eat popcorn, chips, crackers, etc... when you watch at a movie), reducing of meals proportion...actually you need another lifestyle.

To be honest from my point of view people who try to find the perfect diet are just people who avoid to do something. I don't keep diet but I take care what and how much I eat and I make exercises every day even if I have fewer kilos than normal for my height (1.70m and 42 kg). If in a day I think that I ate to much calories I make more exercises to keep a balance.

On the other side, if you can sell something (books, miracle cures, recipes for a healthy way to loose 100 kilos in 7 days) and make money because people prefer to pay for "miracles" than to do something for real, why should not do this? Is a good way to become rich

I don't have trust in diets or miracle cures from internet. I look around at my friends and everybody keep weird and unhealthy diets. I never understand why people think if you eat only "grass" you will lose some kilos. You will lose just for a short period.I think everybody knows that for a good body proportion you need more than a diet. You need sports, give up at bad habits (eat popcorn, chips, crackers, etc... when you watch at a movie), reducing of meals proportion...actually you need another lifestyle.

To be honest from my point of view people who try to find the perfect diet are just people who avoid to do something. I don't keep diet but I take care what and how much I eat and I make exercises every day even if I have fewer kilos than normal for my height (1.70m and 42 kg). If in a day I think that I ate to much calories I make more exercises to keep a balance.

On the other side, if you can sell something (books, miracle cures, recipes for a healthy way to loose 100 kilos in 7 days) and make money because people prefer to pay for "miracles" than to do something for real, why should not do this? Is a good way to become rich

I dont like when adverts on TV seem to get away with lies, misinformation and half truths. Like the Nutella advert we have in the UK which states that Nutella is a hazelnut spread, provides slow releasing carbs and is a good choice of breakfast for kids and adults........ none of which is remotely true. If its advertised on TV, its probably bad advice

Like the Nutella advert we have in the UK which states that Nutella is a hazelnut spread, provides slow releasing carbs and is a good choice of breakfast for kids and adults........ none of which is remotely true.

I love Nutella!I can tell you that kids and adults in Italy and France do have a bit of it for breakfast (along with yogurt and granola) and they have some of the lowest mortality as well as obesity rates in the world. Go figure. Everything in moderation.

I love Nutella!I can tell you that kids and adults in Italy and France do have a bit of it for breakfast (along with yogurt and granola) and they have some of the lowest mortality as well as obesity rates in the world. Go figure. Everything in moderation.

Indeed, totally agree..... and it is very tasty but a slow releasing carb it is not especially when its on white bread as our advert suggests.Im not suggesting nutella is the source of death and obesity in the UK but its just one of many adverts we have that imo outright lie.Sports nutrition used to be a big hobby of mine and I would spend hours reading studies on foods and it never failed to amaze me how adverts manipulated their 'findings'. I wish they would just say 'look its not all that healthy but it tastes awesome so....... y'know '

NUTELLA IS PEOPLE!!! no wait, NUTELLA IS ALIENS ground up and mixed with chocolate

Be very careful taking any advice from the open web in general. Taking advice from GMC is a different story We blocked the alien leaders. Except Kris Dahl!

QUOTE (bleez @ Jan 30 2015, 06:13 PM)

Indeed, totally agree..... and it is very tasty but a slow releasing carb it is not especially when its on white bread as our advert suggests.Im not suggesting nutella is the source of death and obesity in the UK but its just one of many adverts we have that imo outright lie.Sports nutrition used to be a big hobby of mine and I would spend hours reading studies on foods and it never failed to amaze me how adverts manipulated their 'findings'. I wish they would just say 'look its not all that healthy but it tastes awesome so....... y'know '

I love Nutella!I can tell you that kids and adults in Italy and France do have a bit of it for breakfast (along with yogurt and granola) and they have some of the lowest mortality as well as obesity rates in the world. Go figure. Everything in moderation.

I'm sure all the olive oil, tomatoes and generally vegetable based dishes that they eat also have a lot to do with it

I spent yesterday evening at a Q&A session with 2012 NABBA Worlds and Universe Champion Tommy Staunton, it was great to hear the ins and outs of training and nutrition and the drug side of things from someone who's walked the walk, there are many keyboard warriors in the guitar and Bodybuilding internet world, and whilst after a while you can separate the wheat from the chaff, in person made for an enlightening evening and very motivating.

I spent yesterday evening at a Q&A session with 2012 NABBA Worlds and Universe Champion Tommy Staunton, it was great to hear the ins and outs of training and nutrition and the drug side of things from someone who's walked the walk, there are many keyboard warriors in the guitar and Bodybuilding internet world, and whilst after a while you can separate the wheat from the chaff, in person made for an enlightening evening and very motivating.

those types of sessions are so cool I remember years back going to one with John Hodgson. Some of the stories he told about a few of the pro Olympians were great. It was eye opening to hear first hand what his lifestyle involved. I had to ask him about the 'Borresen days' and the old CNP guys but he was really cool about it.

I believe that the key to health and fitness is to just lay around and sleep about 20 hours a day, just getting up to eat all you want, or to go to the bathroom, other than that just staring out the window some when you feel like it.